Dema
by Icenectar
Summary: Vash rescues a girl that has nearly lost her life due to the harsh environment and dehydration. Who and what is she exactly and what is her story?(a work in progress)
1. Default Chapter

The twin suns beat mercilessly down upon the gritty golden terrain. A warm wind blew up, kicking particles of sand as she wearily fell to her feet. She brought her canteen to her lips and pitifully waited for a drop of moisture to be delivered from the weather-beaten container. It was empty. She cried in anger at being deprived of liquid refreshment as her strength gave out and collapsed onto the heated desert terrain.   
  
She had wandered into town only a week ago but got chased out because she was different. The townspeople called her "demon girl" because a scar on her hand was exactly the same as the symbol for the devil. She had done nothing to deserve the name, save perhaps making a few accurate predictions but that was all. Panic had set in and she was kicked out of town. She wandered haphazardly into the desert and gotten herself completely lost. She had also run out of provisions. Now she lay in the sand and waited to die.   
  
Some time later, a young man with a long red coat and spiked blonde hair came upon her. He picked her up and carried her to the nearest town. He laid her on a bed in a hotel room and placed a damp cloth on her forehead. He opened a window and sat down in a chair. He wondered what had happened to bring her close to death in the middle of the desert.   
  
When she awoke, she got the feeling that she was not alone. A careful scan of the room, proved her theory. A young man with spiked blonde hair and a red trench coat sat sleeping in a chair near the window. She sat up and he stirred. She drew back, frightened that he was some evil person intent on raping or even murdering her.   
  
"Hey. You're finally awake. You were out for a long time. You would have died out there if I hadn't run across you when I did," he said and she looked at him.   
  
"Perhaps it would have been better if you had left me where you found me," she said and the young man looked at her.   
  
"Why do you say that?"   
  
"Because I'm not wanted. People see me as a demon child. I'm an outcast and I would have only been murdered eventually. I still may be. I know nothing about you and you have the advantage."   
  
He laughed and she looked at him. He handed her a plate of food and she looked at it and then at him.   
  
"Why should I trust you?" she asked and he shrugged his shoulders.   
  
"Well, right now, you don't have a choice do you?" he asked and she sighed.   
  
"No. I guess you're right."   
  
"Want something to drink? I'm sure you got thirsty out there in the desert."   
  
"You're not going to poison me or anything are you?"   
  
"Of course not. I like pretty girls."   
  
"You're going to take advantage of me?"   
  
"Me? No."   
  
"Oh."   
  
"Just take it. I'm Vash. Maybe a name will help you feel more relaxed."   
  
"They called me Dema. It's short for demon or something like that. I don't really know who I am or where I came from."   
  
"Why did they think you were a demon?"   
  
"Well, I made some correct predictions. I also have the ability to heal others."   
  
"That's a great thing to have."   
  
"Not everyone thinks so. I was persecuted so bad that I thought of killing myself so many times. It's just too bad that I'm a terrible shot."   
  
"No one has the right to take their own life."   
  
"I know that. It just seems to be the only option sometimes."   
  
"There's always another option besides death. You just have to want to see that option."   
  
"I suppose that's true. But, what do I do now? I was driven from the city and I have no other place to go. I can't afford the fare for a sand steamer so I'm stuck here in the middle of nowhere. I guess that's the story of my life. The first thing I remember is being in the middle of nowhere and it seems that that's going to be the last thing I remember too."   
  
"Perhaps you can come with me for just a little while. I can get you out of this area and you can start anew."   
  
"You can do that? Wait, why should I trust you?"   
  
"I saved you, didn't I?"   
  
"You may have saved me only to kill me."   
  
"That doesn't make any sense, does it?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Do you have enough strength to stand? Like I said, you almost didn't make it. You were lucky that I came by when I did."   
  
"I don't know. Arguing with you is tiring enough as it is."   
  
"Get some more sleep then and we'll make plans later. I'll keep watch over you. That's just the way I am."   
  
"I can see that, I guess. You seem too nice to be a killer."   
  
Vash stood up and quietly left the room. She had fallen asleep again and Vash knew that she needed it. He walked out of the hotel and onto the street where a group of people stood, conversing about something. He walked to the back of the group and listened to the conversation.   
  
"That damned bitch has got to be in this town still. Three of my animals just up and died last night. My profits are going to be cut in half because of that demon girl," a man said.   
  
"Strange things have been moving around the outskirts of this town. They've driven all the tourists away. I'm sure they're spirits from the demon world, come looking for her," a woman said.   
  
"We should have shot her when we had the chance. Running her out of town wasn't good enough," another man said.   
  
"Too bad that Vash the Stampede isn't here. We could hire him to kill her. Then our problems would be solved," the first man said.   
  
"But then what would we do about Vash the Stampede?" the second man asked and the first one looked at him.   
  
"That's easy. Soon as he comes back for his reward, we ambush him and kill him. Then we all split the reward money."   
  
"Now that there's a damned good idea but how do we go about locating Vash the Stampede?"   
  
"Never thought of that."   
  
"He's got to be a pretty slippery character since no one's collected the reward money yet."   
  
"We need something. Our plant is dying because of that damned girl."   
  
"I heard it overheated," Vash said and the people turned and looked at him.   
  
"Who the hell are you, stranger?" the first man asked.   
  
"Me? Oh, nobody important. Sorry for eavesdropping but I just find it hard to believe that a mere girl is the cause of all of your problems."   
  
"Mister, that girl ain't natural. She's got the devil in her eyes. I've seen it," the woman said and the other women in the group nodded their heads.   
  
"She's made predictions about people and she can heal herself when she gets injured. She's a charge of the devil I say," a second woman said and Vash looked at them.   
  
"Perhaps it's all coincidence," he said.   
  
"Mister, this ain't all coincidence and it seems to me that you know where that damned girl is. You've got two minutes to tell me or I'm going to let some air into that head of yours," the first man said as he raised his gun. *******************************************************************************************  
  
Dema awoke to silence. She glanced around and noticed that the room was empty. Should she have expected anything else? She supposed not, as she stood up and walked to the bathroom. She gazed at herself in the mirror, her reflection staring back at her. Her hair was cut short and close to her head except for long, wild bangs that hid part of her face. Her eyes were a pale blue and they had a look about them that unnerved a person. It was a look that seemed to speak to people's innermost feelings and that was something that most people did not care for. She brushed back her mauve colored bangs and sighed. She had dreamt that the man who had rescued her would turn out to be a friend, but she should have known better. She had never had friends before so why should now be any different? She turned and walked back into the other room and noticed the tip of a gun that lay on the floor. She picked it up and looked at it. It was the gun that the young man had been carrying. He didn't seem to be the person that would leave weapons lying carelessly about but she took his carelessness as good fortune. She picked the weapon up and aimed the barrel at her face. She stared at the cold, metallic object and hoped that her aim had improved. She pressed down on the trigger then felt the gun jerk upwards. The bullet flew upwards, shattering the incandescent light bulb and Dema opened her eyes. Vash pulled the gun out of her hand and looked at her.   
  
"There's always another option besides death. You just have to see that option. You have to want to see that option," he said and Dema turned away from him.   
  
"Look, they're going to kill me when they find out that I'm here so why should I wait for death? Why can't I take my life right now instead of having to wait for them to take it for me? I don't have a choice in this matter," she said as she glanced out the window.   
  
"Death is never a solution. It only worsens the problem."   
  
"You can say all that just fine. You've never had to go through what I've been through. All I remember is persecution. I don't know who I am or what I am but I know that I'm hated. You can't identify with that."   
  
"Perhaps we are more alike than you know."  
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
Dema glanced out the window then drew sharply back. Vash looked at her questioningly as she fell to her knees. She closed her eyes and began to mutter some words that Vash strained to hear but could not. He heard the click of a weapon and his eyes narrowed. He ran towards her and pushed her out of the way just as a large bullet sailed through the window, taking part of the building with it.   
  
"Come on!" Vash cried as he yanked her to her feet. Before Dema could protest, she found herself running behind him with angry townsfolk on their heels.   
  
"Let go of me, will you? You're just endangering yourself," she said and Vash looked at her.   
  
"I would never leave someone in danger like that. They blame you for their own problems. That isn't right. They're just putting the blame on you because you're an outsider and you showed up just when things were turning from bad to worse. You're not the cause of their problem. You're not the cause of the plant's malfunction."   
  
"It's their own fault for relying on Lost Technology. What happens when it all fails or dies? I don't know much about plants and their system but there's bound to be a mass failure somewhere. What happens then? How are people going to survive?"   
  
"They'll have to rely on themselves instead of a machine or something like that. It can be done."   
  
"I don't think so. People can't be forced back to bread and water once they've tasted cake and wine. People don't want to give up their luxuries and they'll fight to keep them."   
  
"Can you run a little faster while you're talking? We're slowing down and they've got more bullets than we do."   
  
"If only I had a weapon. I'd show them a few things."   
  
"Let's just concentrate on running right now, okay? I don't want to die yet. I don't know why people always chase after me. Am I that popular? I must be, don't you think? To have all the women and men…chasing…after me. You know, I don't think I want to be that popular."   
  
"Do you know something?"   
  
"Well, I know that I'm very handsome but I like to hear girls say it."   
  
"You're a complete idiot. I can't believe someone like you rescued me."   
  
"Hey, just give me a chance. In here!"   
  
"But…"   
  
"Shh."   
  
They watched the townsfolk run past them and Vash glanced at Dema, who stood glaring at him. He removed his hand from her mouth and laughed nervously.   
  
"Sorry. I think we've gotten rid of them for now. Boy, I'm getting hungry. I don't suppose you have anything on you, do you?" he asked and she looked at him.   
  
"Do you think I'd carry food around like I'm some sort of grocery bag?" she asked and Vash drew back.   
  
"Ooh, you get scary when you talk that way. So where's the market?"   
  
"On the other side of town and do you think they'd give you anything since they saw you with me? Hell, no."   
  
"Gee, I guess you're right. Well then. There's only one choice. We've got to move on."   
  
"I still think you're a complete idiot."  
  
**************************************************************  
  
A cold wind blew up and Dema folded her arms in a vain attempt to keep herself warm. She felt hands on her shoulders and glanced at Vash. He had taken his coat off and had draped it over her body. She said nothing as she clutched the crimson trench coat close to her body.   
  
"If we keep this pace up, we'll be able to reach the next sand steamer stop by mid-morning," he said and Dema looked at him.   
  
"You must think I have money or something. I don't. It would be nice; I think to collect on that bounty that's out there for that Stampede guy. I mean he's the real villain. Taking advantage of women, killing people, mass destruction..." she said and Vash said nothing.   
  
"People believe the rumors about you as well. Are those true?" he asked and she looked at him.   
  
"Of course not. Do you...do you know that guy that everyone's after?"   
  
"He's a really nice guy and I can't figure out why all these people want to kill him. He's done nothing wrong."   
  
"He must have done something to have a sixty billion double dollar bounty on him. Those don't get posted just for someone's amusement."   
  
"Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding."   
  
"Sixty billion double dollars is NO misunderstanding. You're sticking up for him like he's a good friend or something. I don't understand that. Of course, I'm the only one I've had for so long. I've been so mistreated by people that I can't trust anyone any more. I'm surprised that I'm still here with you. I guess the fear of death places loyalties into the strangest people. Oh, why are you out here? You're not from the town. You're a traveler by the looks of this coat."   
  
"I'm searching for someone. I'm searching for answers."   
  
"Aren't we all searching for answers? I wish I knew why I had to be so different. It's almost as if I wasn't human because of the way I am...but if I'm not human, what am I?"   
  
"I don't know. You look like a normal person. Better than a normal person, actually."   
  
"Is that a compliment? I've never had one of those. I've only had insults. I don't remember much, but the times I remember are bad. I didn't think that there could be good times as well."   
  
"It's all how you view a situation. Man, I wish those people weren't so hostile back there. I could at least go for a beer right now and maybe a sandwich."   
  
"You've got a gun, why can't you shoot something?"   
  
"I prefer not to kill something that can't defend itself."   
  
"There's logic in that, I guess. Hey, there's a house over there. Maybe they'll let us stay the night. I certainly don't want to hear you complain about hunger the entire way to that steamer thing."   
  
An elderly gentleman opened the door shortly after Dema had knocked on it and she smiled pleasantly at him. Vash glanced behind the gentleman and eyed hungrily the dinner table that had just recently been laid out. Dema glanced at him for a moment, and then rolled her eyes. What sort of rescuer was he to stand and drool over someone else's food?   
  
"Um...good evening, sir. My..." Dema said, trying to figure out the best way to put Vash. He wasn't a friend; she hadn't known him long enough to consider him as one and she didn't like the sound of acquaintance...Companion. That's what he was.   
  
"My wife and I were wondering if you'd be willing to put us up for the night. We're on our way to catch the next steamer back home. We came out here to try our luck at making a fortune but things turned bad and we need to go back home anyway to help her poor mother out," Vash said and Dema stared at him. What WAS he talking about? She wasn't his wife. Why was he making things up?   
  
"What's wrong with her?" an elderly woman, most likely the owner of the house's wife, asked as she walked up behind the old man.   
  
"We don't know. That's why we came out here to try and make some money."   
  
"Come in, come in. Don't stand out in the cold like that. We were just sitting down to eat. Please, join us."   
  
"Thank you very much."   
  
"You're too young a couple to be traveling by foot in this place. I'm surprised he couldn't provide you with some better accommodations, dear."   
  
"Yeah...well, like I said, we're out of money. All we have left is the fare for the steamer."   
  
"Eat some, my dear. You look like you could use some more meat on that thin frame of yours. Does he feed you well?"   
  
Dema looked at Vash, who was filling his plate with food, and then at the elderly woman. She smiled awkwardly and nodded her head.   
  
"Yes, thank you," she replied as the elderly woman filled a glass with water.   
  
"You look tired, my dear. Are you all right?" the woman asked and Dema nodded her head again.   
  
"Yes. It's just been a long day for me. I'd like to get some sleep soon."   
  
"I'm sure you both are tired. Here, dear. You look more tired than hungry. Let me show you where the bathroom is and you're welcome to use it. I'm sure you'll feel much better once you've had a shower."   
  
"Thank you."   
  
Vash watched her stand up, suddenly realizing that she had an attractive body. He wondered if it was just as good without clothes on as it was with clothes.   
  
"So, what do you do for a living?" the elderly gentleman asked and Vash turned his attention back to him.   
  
"Me? Well, I've done odd jobs a lot. I've been hired as a bodyguard, a cook, a farm hand...lots of stuff. I guess I just haven't found my trade yet. This is really good. Can I have some more?" Vash asked as he held out his plate.   
  
"I'm sure glad you and your wife stopped by. It's been kind of lonely without our son. He got killed going after that Vash the Stampede. People said he never had a chance. That Vash the Stampede had him shot so full of holes that the wind blew right threw him. He never had the chance to draw his weapon. I'll be glad when someone catches that damned menace to society. We'll all breathe easier once he's dead, don't you think?"   
  
"Um...yeah."   
  
"You've got a mighty strange lookin' gun there. You a part-time bounty hunter?"   
  
"Me? No, this gun was given to me a long time ago. Just can't get rid of it, if you know what I mean."   
  
"I know how that is. My wife has lots of stuff she can't get rid of. Well, I guess it's about time that you go and get the bed ready for your wife. I know you both must be pretty worn out. This ain't the prettiest or easiest country to travel around in."   
  
"Yeah, you're right. I guess I'd better take care of the sleeping arrangements." *************************************************************************  
  
Dema ran a towel through her damp hair as she walked to the extra room that the elderly woman had shown her on the tour of the house. She opened the door and stopped short at what she saw. Vash stood in the center of the room, pulling off his shirt. His chest was covered with scars and unhealed wounds. He laid the shirt on the bed and glanced at her.   
  
"I don't usually allow women to see me this way," he said, his voice tainted with the bitter sound of pain. She closed the door behind her and Vash put on a shirt that the elderly gentleman had given him.   
  
"I guess in some was, we're very similar," she commented as she walked over to the window.   
  
"There's some clothes for you as well."   
  
"Thanks, but I'll pass."   
  
"I won't say anything. To them, we're married."   
  
"That doesn't mean we are."   
  
"Oh so you wouldn't want to marry...someone like me."   
  
"What? No. I mean...You're sleeping on the floor."   
  
"On the cold, hard ground while you're up on that warm, soft bed? Come down here with me and we can be miserable together."   
  
She walked over to the bed and angrily threw him a blanket and pillow.   
  
"There. Are you happy?"   
  
"Scary. I bet you're really beautiful with long hair. Short hair is cute but long would really suit you."   
  
"I don't remember ever having long hair," Dema commented as she sat on the bed. She lay down and switched off the light. "And you'd better not try to climb into be next to me. I may not have good aim with a gun, but I can kick really good in the most painful places."   
  
"Who, me? Get into bed with you? I wouldn't even think of it."   
  
"Good. Good night then."   
  
"Good night, honey."   
  
"What?"   
  
"Well, we ARE supposed to be married."   
  
"I can't believe I'm stuck in YOUR company."   
  
"You wouldn't have gotten any other help back there, would you?"   
  
Dema said nothing as she pulled the second blanket up over her head. If she had to be stuck with someone, why couldn't it have been someone a little less idiotic?  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Dema awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking and that was a smell she had never experienced before. She glanced at the floor, where Vash lay all sprawled out on his makeshift bed snoring, and sighed. She felt sorry for him but she wasn't about to share a bed with a stranger. She stood up and stretched, then bent over to touch her feet. Vash sleepily opened an eye then propped his head up with his hands and watched her intently.   
  
"Black is a nice color on you," Vash commented and Dema sharply stood up.   
  
"How long have you been awake?" she demanded.   
  
"Well, actually, I just woke up."   
  
"And here I was feeling sorry for you. Well I hope you slept miserably."   
  
"Actually, I slept really well. I guess that's because I was in your company."   
  
"Don't try to flatter me. I can't believe I got stuck with you."   
  
"At least you're alive."   
  
Dema said nothing and Vash stood up and pulled off his shirt. He then remembered that she was in the room and glanced apologetically at her.   
  
"I'm sorry. I've gotten so used to being in a room by myself that I forgot you were here," he said softly and Dema shook her head.   
  
"No. Some scars can never be healed," she said. "I'm sorry. I've been so harsh. Trust is a difficult thing to me. I've only seen people who want to kill me, not people who want me to live."   
  
"It's all right. I understand. It's just that it's hard…to let someone see the way I really am. Women especially."   
  
"I'm sorry. I won't comment about it any more."   
  
"Where are you going?"   
  
"The bathroom. I still have to change back into my clothes and I'm not going to do it in front of you."   
  
"I won't say anything, I swear."   
  
"Nice try but no."   
  
"Maybe later then?"   
  
"You're going to stay right there. Man, I should be traveling with a dog. He'd listen a lot better."   
  
"I can be a dog."   
  
"Look, just go eat, will you? You're getting on my nerves."   
  
"It'd be a pleasure to oblige you ma'am."   
  
Dema watched him walk out of the room and sighed. What had she done to deserve such a companion? How in the world had he rescued her? The answer to that question was an enigma to her. Maybe that Stampede guy rescued her and the idiot she was with was just a decoy. She nodded her head as she unbuttoned the shirt that she wore. That had to be the answer. She took off her shirt and bra and glanced at the keyhole.   
  
"If you're on the other side of that door, I'll really hurt you!" she cried and Vash quickly drew away.   
  
"Boy, she's really scary when she's mad. She's not that bad looking either. Maybe I can get her to like me a little more. Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Now it's time for breakfast," Vash said to himself and walked into the dining room. 


	2. Chapter 2

They left the house late that morning. Dema was silent, thinking about things and perhaps, trying to remember the past. Vash glanced at her, sensing her troubled thoughts. He wished he could do something to brighten her spirits. "So where exactly is the station? I'm already sick of this desert," Dema said and sighed. "You know, I want to see trees. I can't believe this entire planet is a wasteland. There's got to be at least one blade of grass somewhere."   
  
"I remember seeing a tree and grass once, but that was a long time ago. Get down!"   
  
"But..."   
  
"Just do it!" Vash commanded.   
  
"Well, well, well. The bounty on you is mine, Vash the Stampede," an enormous, muscular man with scruffy black hair said and Dema looked at him.   
  
"You know, you seem a bit confused. This idiot I'm with isn't Vash the Stampede," she said and the man snorted.   
  
"Sticking up for your boyfriend, huh?"   
  
"He is not my boyfriend."   
  
"No, but I'm a really nice guy. Maybe she'll warm up to me. What do you think?" Vash asked and Dema groaned.   
  
"How in the hell did I get stuck with you?"   
  
"Hmm. Well, I have it on good authority that he is Vash the Stampede. What do you think of that?" the stranger asked.   
  
"I think you're crazy. Any fool can see this can't be Vash the Stampede," Dema said and pointed to Vash. Vash waved hello and Dema rolled his eyes.   
  
"You see what I mean?"   
  
"I hate to disagree with you, missy but I say that is Vash the Stampede."   
  
"Hey!"   
  
"Do I get to talk now?" Vash asked and Dema walked up to him.   
  
"Tell him who you are. Do it!" Dema demanded and Vash took a step backwards.   
  
"You don't have to be so hostile. But, since you asked, I am a man of mystery. A man adored by the youth. A man every woman fantasizes about. A man..."   
  
"Geez! I'm sorry I asked. Now do you see what I'm stuck with? There's no way that this is Vash the Stampede."   
  
"Well, you've made your point and I can't disprove it. It must be another guy in a red coat. Besides, this sap doesn't look the womanizing type. Sorry I bothered you. Where are you headed, by the way?" the stranger asked.   
  
"The sand steamer, if there is such a thing," Dema replied.   
  
"Of course there is. The station's on the other side of that sand dune. It's due to arrive in about half an hour."   
  
"Well at least we got some help from him. Imagine, him thinking you're the sixty billion double dollar man. I wonder what he looks like, though," Dema commented as they climbed the sand dune.   
  
"If you knew, would that change the way you see him?" Vash asked.   
  
"I don't know. That must be the station down there. Is it expensive to ride? I don't have a lot of money."   
  
"Well, I was planning on paying your way and getting you some new clothes if you'd let me. The one you have now are looking kind of worn."   
  
"You'd do that for me?"   
  
"As long as I don't get yelled at."   
  
"Thank you!"   
  
She embraced him and Vash flushed. He hesitated putting his arms around her but she did feel warm and soft pressed close to his body. She glanced up at him and sharply drew away.   
  
"Don't expect something like that as routine," she said and folded her arms.   
  
"Of course not," Vash replied.   
  
*************************************************************  
  
Dema glared at Vash and Vash sighed.   
  
"A single was all I could afford. You needed new clothes," he said as she walked over to the window.   
  
"They didn't have to be so expensive," she said as Vash unpacked the contents of a brown paper bag.   
  
"Those were the ones you looked the best in. We should be leaving soon. Would you like to go on deck and watch?"   
  
"I suppose. This is the first one I've been on. What's that?"   
  
"I went and got some food for us. We're going to be on this for awhile and I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," Vash said as Dema tried to pull down the short, black shirt that she wore.   
  
"I guess I can eat something," Dema said and Vash handed her a wrapped sandwich.   
  
"We can eat on the deck as we watch the steamer leave the station."   
  
"All right. Hey, do you think we'll run into your friend any time soon?"   
  
"My friend?"   
  
"Vash the Stampede. Hey...when you gave me a name when you introduced yourself, why did you say Vash?"   
  
"Come on. It'll be leaving in a few minutes."   
  
Vash took her hand and led her out of the room. He was slightly surprised that she didn't protest but he wasn't complaining. He was beginning to be intrigued by her and wished that she could see him as more than an idiot but he could tell that trust was extremely difficult for her.   
  
"We can sit down and eat. I'll get us a drink. I'll be right back."   
  
She watched him leave and wondered why he avoided her question. It wasn't possible that he was Vash the Stampede, was it?   
  
"Of course not. Not him. He can't possibly be Vash the Stampede. But then again...he did save me and he did dodge the bullets that were being fired at us. If he's not the sixty billion double dollar man, then who is he?" she asked aloud. ********************************************************************************************  
  
Vash glanced over at Dema for a moment and then picked up the bottle of wine that he had just bought and sighed. She looked beautiful sitting there at the table watching the sand whirl up behind the steamer as it pulled slowly away from the station. She would look much better with long hair, Vash decided as he walked back up to the table she sat at.   
  
"Here you go. I'll pour you a glass," he said as she sat down.   
  
"What is it?" Dema asked as he handed her a glass.   
  
"Wine. It's quite good. Try it."   
  
She raised the glass and took a sip. She then drank a little faster and Vash watched her.   
  
"You'll get sick if you drink too much too fast," he said and she looked at him.   
  
"Oh."   
  
"Moderation is best."   
  
"Thanks. Why are you searching for someone? Are you looking for love?"   
  
"No."   
  
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to understand. I haven't been around such things for very long. I didn't mean to upset you. Why are you being so nice anyway?"   
  
She stood up and walked over to the rail that marked the edge of the steamer and blinked her eyes. She wished she could remember her past. She wished she knew who or what she was as tears fell glistening to the dry amber sea below.   
  
"You okay?" Vash asked and Dema looked at him.   
  
"Some sand got in my eye," she replied.   
  
"Well, maybe we should go back to the room."   
  
"Maybe we should."  
  
************************************************************   
  
The city echoed with screams of terror as stone buildings that seemed like modern monoliths crumbled to the ground around her. She was a young child, witnessing the destruction first hand. Dead bodies littered the street around her. She screamed loudly, her voice sounding like a grown woman's instead of a child's.   
  
"Hey, snap out of it," Vash said and Dema looked at him. She was no longer a child. She was full-grown and on a steamer with Vash the Stampede. She blinked her eyes as it all became clear to her. He was the sixty billion double dollar man. He had always been. She had just not seen it before now. It had been the way he looked at her that had erased all doubts of who he was in her mind.   
  
"I'm fine now," Dema said and turned away from him.   
  
"What happened?"   
  
"Please. I don't want to think about it. They call you the Humanoid Typhoon, yet you don't seem the type to cause mass destruction."   
  
"So you've finally accepted the truth."   
  
"What are you actually? If you're not as bad as your reputation, what are you?"   
  
"I don't know. I don't remember much except my early childhood. I just know that I have to take care of something."   
  
"Take care of what?"   
  
"Something that should have been taken care of a long time ago."   
  
The lights flickered for a moment then shut off completely. Dema stared at Vash in terror and Vash narrowed his eyes.   
  
"Call me stupid, but I don't think this is supposed to happen," she said and Vash looked at her.   
  
"It wasn't. Something is very wrong."   
  
"Good afternoon passengers. We have just been informed that there is an electrical detonator located somewhere on the steamer. We are currently taking measures to locate and diffuse this bomb. Please be aware that this may cause some delays in reaching our final destination. We apologize for the inconvenience this might have caused any of you and hope you will travel with us in the future," the loudspeaker said. There was silence for a few moments, and then the silence was shattered by complete and utter hysteria.   
  
"If that thing explodes..." Dema said, her voice trailing off as the vague memories of her childhood played in her mind once again. She saw a man, tall with bluish hair. He had done most of the damage to the decrepit city she stood in.   
  
He had dark eyes, she remembered. Dark, unnerving eyes. The eyes turned and gazed at her, death lingering on the edges of his pupils and she remembered being extremely frightened. What happened next, she did not know, for her memory was too clouded at that point in time. What she did remember, however, was that she ended up alone. Alone and unwanted and that knowledge had made her extremely bitter.   
  
"Come on! We've got to find that bomb. Do you know how to diffuse one?" Vash asked and Dema looked at him.   
  
"What makes you think I would know how to do something like that?" Dema asked and Vash shrugged his shoulders.   
  
"I don't know. I just thought I'd ask."   
  
"Well I don't."   
  
"Okay. What do you know, then?"   
  
"Look, if you want to play the hero, go right ahead. I'll come along but I'm not helping."   
  
"As you wish."   
  
"Don't patronize me, either."   
  
"Let's just go. People's lives are at stake."   
  
********************************************************************  
  
The orphanage was drafty where she and the other children from the village had been taken. The children were cruel to her because she didn't look like everyone else. Her hair color was light while everyone else's was dark. Her ears were narrower too and there was something about her that struck the other children as odd and that unnerved them. She remembered standing underneath a tree and how the plant calmed her. It was almost as if she could hear its thoughts, which was strange for she knew trees were not sentient.   
  
"If you're going to be with me, you've got to keep up," Vash said and Dema looked at him.   
  
"Yes. I don't want to see another destruction like the last one," she said, her voice sounding far away.   
  
"Last one?"   
  
"A few years before I came to the town you took me back to, I saw myself standing in the middle of a massacre. I don't know what happened, but I was unharmed. Some people were still alive, but barely. I offered to help but they called me a demon and some other things and died. When you're the only one standing in a sea of death, you tend to believe what the dying say. I tried to go on with my life and not take heed to their thoughts, but when I reached the town you took me back to, everything fell apart. I just wish that I wasn't such a failure at suicide. My problems would be over if that happened."   
  
"Would it be over just like that? Do you really believe that?"   
  
"I don't know. I just know that I'm sick and tired of being treated the way I have been."   
  
"No one's treating you like that here."   
  
"I know. We need to go this way."   
  
"How do you know?"   
  
"I don't know. I just do. I guess I can hear it or something."   
  
"But would it make a noise if it's electrical?"   
  
"Look, I don't know. Just go this way, will you? This is all I'm going to help with, understand?"   
  
"Yes. I wonder who planted the bomb? If it's diffused, I'm sure that's not going to be the last of our problems."   
  
"It's probably another attempt on your life. What did you do to make so many people want you dead?"   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"I wonder if you caused the massacre that I survived. Do you know a man with blue hair?"   
  
"No, I don't. Why?"   
  
"I remember his face. His eyes especially. He had dark eyes. Eyes that had death on the rims of them..."   
  
She shivered at the memory and Vash watched her. She was hiding a lot of things and Vash could only guess at what they were. He opened his mouth to say something when she turned away from him and began to walk faster.   
  
"Come on. Don't ask my any stupid questions, either. I'm not going to answer them."   
  
"But when are you going to let go of the past and all that it holds?" Vash asked and Dema stopped walking and turned to face him.   
  
"What past? Do you call a few cloudy memories of death a past? I have no past and I sure as hell don't have a future. Why did you have to be nice and rescue me anyway? Why?" she demanded, and then turned away, her breath becoming irregular. Vash watched her for a moment and lowered his eyes.   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"Let's just get going. You want to play the hero, remember?" ******************************************************************************  
  
Dema's pace slowed and Vash glanced at her. What was wrong now? She glanced nervously around her then looked at Vash.   
  
"We're not alone up here," she said and Vash nodded his head.   
  
"I know. Too bad, huh?" he asked and Dema looked at him.   
  
" I have no idea what you're talking about."   
  
"Well maybe I should explain. I mean when a man feels this way..."   
  
"There's people up here. I don't want to see more die. Let's go back."   
  
"Too late for that missy," a sinister voice said. "Now you've got a choice Vash the Stampede. Either give yourself up or everyone else in this steamer gets blown to smithereens."   
  
"Excuse me, but where's the point in that? If you blow everyone up then you'll be dead too," Dema said and her eyes grew wide when the barrel of a gun was shoved into her mouth.   
  
"Who asked you to talk, missy?" a second voice demanded, the owner of the voice tall with black hair that fell to his shoulders and narrow, evil eyes.   
  
"Now let's not kill needlessly here," the leader said and pulled the gun out of Dema's mouth.   
  
"Kill needlessly? You're willing to blow the entire steamer up if this idiot doesn't give himself up and you're worried about killing needlessly? Where the hell is the logic in that?" Dema asked.   
  
"You've just lost your life, missy."   
  
"Excuse me," Vash said and smacked the leader on the head with the butt of his gun. The leader fell limply to the ground. "It's his own fault for not moving."   
  
"Hey look what he did to the boss! You're gonna die now, jerk!" the second man said and opened fire on him along with five other men.   
  
Vash screamed, grabbed Dema's hand and ran.   
  
"He'll be fine when he wakes up. He'll just have a little headache! Ahh! Oh why do people always shoot at me? Am I hated that much? It just isn't fair!" Vash cried.   
  
"Would you shut up?" Dema asked.   
  
"Well it's true."   
  
"How can you be the one that everyone wants to kill you if you're such an idiot at times?"   
  
"All right. We need to go back and take care of that bomb."   
  
"But how? They'll kill us."   
  
"Leave that to me."   
  
"Do I have a choice? No."   
  
**********************************************   
  
"Stay here," Vash said and Dema folded her arms.   
  
"Got no problem with that. Go on and play the hero. You seem to be good at it," Dema said and Vash pushed up his glasses.   
  
"Just doing my job, ma'am."   
  
She sighed in frustration as she watched him leave. Why did she have to end up being stuck with him? She sat on the floor and closed her eyes, desperately trying to remember what she could not remember.   
  
"Why should I care if he gets himself killed? He's entirely too willing to stick his neck out for others. He's a complete idiot and a jerk and if I never see him again, it will be too soon. But, if he does dies, then I'll be all alone. Again. I don't want that. What should I do? I can't help him. I don't have any special abilities and I'm no good with a weapon. What if he needs help? I wish I knew what to do. It's strange, that I want to help him. I've never wanted to help anyone before. I've never had a reason to help anyone before. I'm not exactly sure why I want to help him now, but I do."  
  
************************************************  
  
"I hear footsteps," one of the men said and the leader painfully lit a cigarette.  
  
"He's coming back. Well I'm going to be ready for him. You got that bomb disconnected?" he asked and one of the men laughed maniacally.  
  
"Ready and waiting, boss," he replied and the boss grinned viciously.  
  
"Good. Just wait 'till he rounds that corner then bam! That bastard's gonna be in hell."  
  
"That's gonna be funny to see."  
  
"Sorry but I'm going to have to cancel that. I couldn't allow so many people to die simply for your entertainment. See ya!" Vash cried and ran off.  
  
"Idiot! Why didn't you throw it at him?" the boss demanded and the man in question whimpered in fear.  
  
"'cause I ain't got it. He…he took it from me!" he cried.  
  
"Damn him! He's just asking for it now. This time, I'm pulling out all the stops. I won't be made a fool again!"  
  
******************************  
  
"How do I get rid of this thing? It could go off in my hands. Aah! I never thought of that! Boy, if it did, she'd never like me. Help me someone!" Vash cried then stopped when he reached the edge of the steamer. "Here goes. I've got the guts and personality to get the job done."  
  
With all his might, he threw the bomb overboard then leapt out of the way when the gang appeared behind him in some sort of wagon.  
  
"Boss, we can't stop!!" one screamed as they sailed over the edge of the steamer.  
  
Vash shielded his eyes from the explosion then turned around and walked back into the steamer.  
  
"Gee, I hope they're not too badly burned. They'd be in pain when the sun comes up. Oh well. I hope she's all right. Don't worry miss, I've saved the day. No, that sounds stupid and she already thinks I'm an idiot. Aw man! How can I show her that I'm not a complete fool? I know! With my sex appeal. One look of this face and she can't help but fall for me. That's what I'll do."  
  
****************************************  
  
Dema heard footsteps and she cringed in fear. Had they come back for her? Had they killed him? She had heard the explosion and she thought the worst. She glanced up and nearly screamed when she saw Vash right in front of her. He grinned and waved hello and she angrily turned away.  
  
"Hello," he said and she glanced at him sideways.  
  
"I thought you had been killed," she said and Vash shook his head.  
  
"No, not me. I was too quick for them. May I escort you back to your room?"  
  
She glanced at him and noticed the seriousness in his eyes. He did have his moments. If only he wasn't such an idiot at times…She gazed into his green eyes and sighed. There was a warmness there that she had never experienced before. He looked beautiful now, she noticed and she awkwardly turned away. He took her hand and she turned sharply back to face him.  
  
"What do you want?" she demanded  
  
"I'd like to take you back to the room. This is no place for you. You're much too pretty for this place."  
  
He helped her up and she followed him. He put an arm around her waist and she glanced at him. He grinned and she shook his head.  
  
"You are so pathetic," she said.  
  
"I know. Beautiful women are a weakness to me."  
  
"That's not what I was talking about."  
  
"What, then?"  
  
"Forget it."  
  
"Aw…I wanna know. Come on, tell me."  
  
"No."  
  
"Here I am, trying to be so nice to you and you treat me like I'm a dog."  
  
"I wouldn't treat a dog like this. Dogs are cute."  
  
"And I'm not?"  
  
She said nothing and Vash glanced at her. She glanced at him then looked away.  
  
"Once we get there, I'm going to take a shower. You're staying on the other side of the door. Understand?"  
  
"But you might need protection."  
  
"From what?"  
  
"From the unknown."  
  
"No. I can take care of this on my own."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure. Now stop it or I just might jump off this damned steamer to get away from you."  
  
"Hey, I'm not that bad."  
  
"No, you're just highly annoying."  
  
***********  
  
Dema opened her eyes and glanced down at the floor where Vash slept soundly. She pushed back the blankets and laid her feet on the floor on the other side of the bed. She stood up, glanced at him, and then unbuttoned her nightshirt. She glanced at her chest, which also held the scars of her past and tightly shut her eyes. She took off the shirt and put her old one on. She turned around, stepped over Vash's legs and walked out of the room.   
  
Vash sat up and stared at the closed door. Her scars ran deep, just like his. He felt sympathy for her and wished that he could do something for her. Unlock her heart perhaps, and show her that life wasn't as bad as it seemed.  
  
"But how?" he asked aloud. "She makes it difficult to get the time of day from her. How could I possibly show her that it isn't all bad?"  
  
Dena sat in a chair on the deck of the steamer. She gazed up at the sky and picked up a glass of wine. She had used what little money she had to buy alcohol in hopes of drowning her sorrows in it. She took a sip of the wine and the image of herself as a child standing alone in amongst the dead came into her mind. It was almost as if the entire city had been hit by a tornado…or a typhoon. Typhoon. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, to picture the actual event of the time. There was, she seemed to remember, a red coat at the site of the massacre. Had it been his?  
  
"If you drink that bottle by yourself, you'll get sick," Vash said as he sat across from her at the table.  
  
"What do you want?" Dema asked. "I'm sorry I woke you when I left."  
  
"You didn't wake me. By the way, how did you get those marks on your back?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"On your back. What did they come from?"  
  
"You lay there and watched me?!"  
  
"I'd like to help you. I'd like to at least provide you some form of comfort."  
  
"I don't want or need your sympathy."  
  
"It's not sympathy. It's a concern, that's all."  
  
"I don't need your concern."  
  
"Wouldn't you like something to take the pain away?"  
  
"Why do you think I spent my money on that bottle? Now give it back."  
  
"Wouldn't you like someone who could show you the joy in life? Someone you could confide in? Someone that would make each day seem worth living?"  
  
"Why would anyone have a reason to care about me? I've never given them any reason to."  
  
"Have you ever given them reason not to? When I look at you, I see a person who is lost and confused. I also see a lot of pain in your eyes. I wish I could change that."  
  
"Why do you want to change it?"  
  
"Because your scars are more visible than my own."  
  
**************************  
  
It was early in the morning when the steamer pulled into March Town. Dema sleepily opened her eyes and sat up in shock when she heard breathing beside her. She glanced beside her and stared at Vash in shock. What exactly had happened the previous night? She pulled the blanket off of him, wrapped it around her body and walked out of the room.  
  
Vash yawned and sat up. He laid a hand on the bed then, after realizing where he was, turned slowly in hopes of catching a glimpse of Dema. He stared at the empty space beside him and sighed.  
  
"Oh man! She must have seen me and left. I don't know how I ended up here. I hope she's not mad at me. I've really got the feeling that she's the one that I've been searching for, but how can I get on her good side?" he asked as he stood up. He walked out of the room and over to where Dema stood. She looked at him for a moment then turned away.  
  
"Dema, please. I hate to see people suffer. I offered to help you, didn't I? I can't help you if you won't let me."  
  
"I'm sorry. What do you want to know? I might as well drag you into my misery since I've brought you this far," Dema said as she continued to gaze up at the waning night sky.  
  
"What happened to make you so upset?"  
  
"I don't know. I remember standing as a small child in the middle of a dead city, alone and frightened. I lived in an orphanage for   
  
awhile after that but then I ran away. Things kept happening there and I was always being blamed for things that I didn't do.   
  
Sicknesses and missing spoons and things like that. They placed the blame on me because I was different. I still am. Different, I mean   
  
and I still am being blamed for things that I have no control over. They treat me like I'm not human and maybe they're right. It's just   
  
not fair. I've never been given a fair chance."  
  
"Life isn't always fair but it doesn't have to be as terrible as you allow it to be. All you need to do is open your heart and your eyes   
  
to the light that you've been blinded to."  
  
"Why should I expect you to understand? All you've had is people wanting to kill you. You've never been the only one left standing   
  
from an entire city of people, have you? You've never been blamed for things that you had no control over, have you?"  
  
"I'll give you a promise. If you will allow yourself to trust me, then I will show you that we have more in common than you realize."  
  
****************  
  
Vash sat down at a table and Dema reluctantly sat across from him.   
  
He glanced at her and then at the menu that was lying in front of him. A waitress came up to him and he gazed up at her.  
  
"Hello. I'd like this and this please," he said and the waitress looked at Dema.  
  
"What about you?" she asked and Dema glanced at her.  
  
"Water. I think after I see him shovel it in, I'll lose my appetite," Dema said and Vash glanced at her.  
  
"Am I really that bad?" he asked and Dema looked at him.  
  
"You sure eat like two guys stuck in one body. I'll just stick to water. I'll even take it outside so you can have the entire table, Vash."  
  
"Vash? As in Vash the Stampede?" the waitress asked and Dema looked at her.  
  
"Much as I'd hate to admit it, yes. He's the wanted man."  
  
"Um...can I just get my order please? Oh, and some ketchup too, if you don't mind. Thanks," Vash said and Dema looked at him.  
  
"How can you eat at a time like this?" Dema asked.  
  
"No time is like the present."  
  
"Fine. Look, I'll just go outside and wait for you. It's not like I know my way around here."  
  
"And I do? Come on. Sit down. I promise I won't be that bad, okay? Hey, your hair is growing out. It's looking better with each day," Vash said and Dema flushed.  
  
"...Thanks. Why are you so persistent with me?" she asked and Vash looked at her.  
  
"Because I see a beautiful women underneath all of that pain. A beautiful woman that's just waiting to come out. You're like a   
  
caterpillar just waiting to turn into a butterfly."  
  
"Um...okay. Thank you. I think...I think I'll go and wash my face. It feels a little warm in here."  
  
"She's blushing," Vash said to himself as she walked away from him. "I think she's finally letting go of her anger. Good. She   
  
needs some peace in her life."  
  
**************************  
  
Dema dried her face and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. He was right. Her hair was longer. She turned away from the mirror and blinked her eyes. Why did she feel overwhelmed with tears? She laid a hand on the bathroom door and opened it.  
  
She stopped short at the situation in the restaurant. Vash was surrounded and his hands were held up high. She stared at him for a moment then folded her arms.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked and one of the men turned to face her.  
  
"Me? Well, I was just getting ready to eat when..." Vash said and Dema sighed.  
  
"Not you. These idiots."  
  
"Look miss, why don't you leave while we discuss some things with Mr. Stampede?" the man who had turned to face her asked.  
  
"Right. And you're going to discuss with your guns. This guy doesn't even have a chance."  
  
"And you can make things even?"  
  
"I didn't say that. I just think it's cowardly for you to gang up on someone who's at a disadvantage."  
  
"Cowardly? You little bitch."  
  
"Let me kill her, boss," another man said and Dema glared at him.  
  
"Why are there so many people that want to kill me? I've had about enough of this. I'm not going to take any more. I've experienced it my entire life. No more."  
  
"Fire the gun, damn it!"  
  
The light bulbs in the restaurant burst and Vash's assailants took a nervous step backwards. Dema blinked her eyes then turned around in shock.  
  
"It...it happened again. Go Vash. Forget about me. Leave while you still have the advantage," Dema said, her voice faltering. Vash heard her footsteps run out the front door and blinked his eyes. What had just happened?  
  
******************  
  
Dema ran through the town, her bright hair a streak as she passed the plain stone buildings. She had no idea where she was going in the maze of white and brown but she knew that she was getting away from Vash. There had been one thing about her that she had neglected to tell him and that was the thing that furthered her suspicions that she was not human. One of the main reasons that she was called a demon was because she seemed to have an untamed affinity with electricity. Perhaps that was the reason why she asked about the plant's ability to feel emotions when they had passed it. She stopped running and brought a hand to her back. She held her hand up to her face and gazed at the blood that stained her skin.  
  
She had opened up an old injury with her frantic stride and she was now feeling its pain. She reluctantly leaned her body against the   
  
side of a building and gazed up at the sky. She would get through this just like she had done before. She would get through it and   
  
she would do it alone. She just couldn't involve him in her life any more. Not that she wanted to in the first place, but now...Now she seemed to hold a different view of him that she could not explain. All she knew was that she had to go on alone. He had numerous problems of his own to deal with and he shouldn't force himself to worry about her.  
  
She closed her eyes and swore under her breath. The pain was becoming unbearable but she struggled to deal with it. It was just herself now and she was going to have to overcome the scars and wounds of her past.  
  
************************************************  
  
Vash trudged through the silent back streets, his mind trying to calculate what had happened in the restaurant. 1: They sat down and he looked over the menu. 2: She asked for water and he had given her a compliment. 3: She had become embarrassed and she want to the restroom to wash her face. 4: He got surrounded. 5: She got upset and by some power increase had burst the lights of the restaurant. By some power increase...Could that have been the reason why she had inquired about the plant's ability to feel emotions? She had already expressed her belief that she was not human but a plant....?  
  
Vash shook his head as he turned down another alley. That idea was foolish. Plants could not survive without Lost Technology. They were, in fact, integrated with the technology. They couldn't survive without it, could they?  
  
He turned another corner and noticed blood spots on the side of one of the whitish buildings. He laid a hand on the mottled stone and drew back. It was still wet. Had she been shot? He struggled to remember how many bullets had been fired but he could not. He gazed down at the sandy street and noticed that it was also stained in blood. He followed the trail until he came across her, slumped against the wall of another building, the life clearly going out of her eyes.  
  
"Come on, I'll get you taken care of," Vash said softly and Dema gazed up at him.  
  
"I...don't need your help. I'll be fine," she replied and Vash grimly smiled.   
  
"Like it or not, you need my help on this one."  
  
*************************  
  
To have peace without feeling pain...That was the position Dema was currently in. Vash watched her with concern as he tried to determine what he should do. He himself had the capability to heal, but he hesitated to do that, fearing that she would not accept his help. He had failed. He had wanted to protect her, but he could not. Why had he wanted to protect her? He supposed that it was in his nature to protect. Of course, he had also saved her once   
  
before...  
  
"She really is beautiful," Vash commented as he pulled the blanket up on her body. "I wish I could reach her. She seems so lost on the inside. But, I guess in a sense, we all are. Pull through this for your sake, please."  
  
Vash gently touched her face then turned down the light by the bed. He then walked over to a chair and sat down. He folded his arms and sighed. It was going to be a terribly long night. 


	3. Chapter 3

Dema stirred and Vash glanced at her. He stood up and walked over to where she lay. Her eyes were open but they did not have the light that he had grown used to. He gazed down at her in concern as he pulled up the blanket on her body.  
  
"How are you doing?" Vash asked as he laid his hand on hers.  
  
"Let go of me. I'm fine. I told you, I don't need your help," Dema said but her words were devoid of emotions.  
  
"Dema, stop acting like a child. I know you're independent and courageous but you need some help this time. You can talk to me about the past if you want. How did you get that wound that you opened up out there?"   
  
"Do I have to?"  
  
"I think it would help."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Perhaps if you let go of your emotions you'd be able to find peace."  
  
"All right. I'll talk. That man with the blue hair and evil eyes...I saw him again. I don't know what city I was in. December, maybe. Anyway, he was at a restaurant or something because I remember being hungry. He approached me and I was very resistant. He had not changed at all since I had seen him last but I had. I had grown considerably since I saw him in amongst the flames of a dying city. But, I don't believe he ever saw me at that time because he showed   
  
no signs of recognition. Anyway, he approached and I resisted. He became angry and I felt a sharp pain in my back. Then, everything went black."  
  
"So he struck you?"  
  
"I guess so."  
  
She slowly shut her eyes and Vash gently shook her.  
  
"You've got to heal yourself. You don't really want it to end like this, do you? You don't want to die without knowing who you are and why you were treated so badly do you? You have worth in yourself. You just have to open your eyes to it."  
  
*****************************  
  
When Dema awoke, she had no idea what time it was, let alone what day it was. She sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in her head. She glanced at Vash, who sat sleeping in a chair and sighed. He was being entirely too nice to her. She stood up and pulled the blanket that she had been under off of the bed. She draped it over Vash's body and he gazed up at her.  
  
"You're finally showing some compassion," he said and she looked at him.  
  
"I just felt sorry or you, that's all. I'm changing clothes. You'd better stay right there," she said.  
  
"I was going to offer my services. I AM pretty good at zippers."  
  
"What makes you think I'd let you touch me?"  
  
"Well...I did to take care of your wounds."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Your skin is really soft. Did you know that?"  
  
"I'm not even going to ask what you touched. And here I was trying to be nice to you, you sick..."  
  
"Ow! Hey, it wasn't like that at all! I was only concerned about your health. But now that you're better, perhaps....?"  
  
"No."  
  
********************************  
  
Dema turned on the tap and tightly shut the curtains. She placed tissue into the keyhole and pulled off her shirt. She unclasped her bra and glanced up at the ceiling vent. She frowned then pulled the straps down. Not even he would be so perverted to try something like that...Or would he? She put on her shirt, which was slightly damp because it had been draped over the side of the bathtub and opened the door. Vash glanced up at her and then his eyes grew wide. She gazed down at her shirt, suddenly aware of the dampness on her chest and flushed as she saw the wet fabric clinging relentlessly to her skin. Vash opened his mouth to say something and she haughtily turned around, walked, into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.  
  
"Why did I do that? Why? I can't believe that I'd be so paranoid to think that he somehow had crawled up into the ventilating shaft just to watch me. Then I had to put on a wet shirt. I know that's not something he's going to let me forget," Dema said as she took off her pants and stepped into the shower. "He's the worst kind of womanizer, the rumors say. Pervert is more like it. I still want to know how he ended up sleeping beside me that night. It was kind of nice, though...Wait a minute! What am I saying? Nice to be sleeping next to that idiotic..."  
  
She fell silent as she allowed the warm water to rain down on her hair. It was now almost half as long as it had been before and for some strange reason, she felt comfortable with the growing length. It wasn't because he had said that he would like her better with long hair, was it? She shook her head as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. That was preposterous. That would mean that she...liked him. How could she like anyone like that? He was idiotic...Protective. Perverted. Polite. Reckless. Heroic. He was compassionate and he sincerely wanted to help her....  
  
There was a knock at the door and Dema angrily turned off the shower. She searched around for a towel but could find none. She watched in terror as the lock on the knob clicked and Vash stepped in. She laid a hand on the shower curtain and tried her best to wrap it around her body.  
  
"What do you want?" she demanded as he produced a bath towel and laid it on the edge of the sink.  
  
"Room service just brought some up. We were out of them," he said.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me that before I came in here?!"  
  
"I didn't think you'd listen."  
  
"Just get out of here so I can dry off."  
  
"Can I help?"  
  
"No!"  
  
**********************************  
  
"I have to leave him somehow before things get out of hand," Dema said to herself as she pulled on her shirt. She ran a towel through her hair and opened the bathroom door. She expected Vash to make some sort of comment but he didn't.   
  
She glanced around the room and realized that he wasn't there. She breathed a sigh of relief then looked around the room again, unsure as to what to do next. Has he left her? Her treatment of him would have given him reason to leave but it seemed strange for him to do that. She combed her hair then walked over to the window and looked out.  
  
She saw his silhouette against the rising moons so cold and still and she wondered what he was doing. He seemed to be thinking or reminiscing. Reminiscing about the past, perhaps? The cuts and scars on his body, at least the ones she had seen, were much worse than any she had on her own body. How did he get them and why was he so determined to help? Why did he care what happened to her on this god-forsaken world?  
  
"He's doing this just to tick me off," she said to herself. "And it's working."  
  
Dema climbed out the window and began the long walk up the road to where Vash stood. A cool wind blew up, playing with Dema's now lengthening hair. She watched the wind blow his crimson coat as he gazed up at the star-filled sky. He was an impressive figure, she realized as she drew nearer to him. Something glistened on his cheek and she stopped short. Tears? Was he crying? He was. But why?  
  
******************************************  
  
"What brings you out here? Have you come to tell me to keep my distance?" Vash asked and Dema looked at him.  
  
"I just wondered what happened to you."  
  
"I'm here and you're free to go. I won't follow you. You want to wander around alone. So be it."  
  
His change in attitude shocked her and she turned around and wiped her eyes. Was he testing her? Or had he finally grown tires of how she had been treating him? She wanted to tell him that she really appreciated him but found she couldn't.  
  
"Forget what I was going to say then!" she cried and turned and ran away from the hotel.  
  
Vash watched her for a moment then turned away. She had made her choice and he shouldn't go after her. He then thought of how he received his scars by helping people and sighed. Every one of them reminded him that love and peace was what balanced the world and when he had given Dema her choice, he had honored neither of them.  
  
"I should have been more patient. I shouldn't have let her unhappiness get to me. She needs someone and I let her down," Vash said as he stared down the path that she had taken.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
Stupid. That's what she had been. She had been so completely idiotic for believing him. She should have just allowed herself to die in that desert heat. She should have at least jumped off the sand steamer when the opportunity had presented itself but she hadn't.  
  
Why had she stayed with him? Look at where it had gotten her. She was nowhere better off than she had been lying in the middle of the desert just waiting to die. She forced herself to run faster, feeling the sharp pain in her back. She knew that she had torn her old wounds open again but she didn't care. She didn't want to live any longer anyway.  
  
The image of the blue-haired man with sinister eyes filled her mind. Her motor skills were lessening as she continued to run. She soon gasped as her entire body cried out in pain.  
  
"I believed him. I even tolerated him. Look at where that got me. I might as well stop avoiding hell. There's nothing for me here."  
  
***************************************************************************  
  
The quiet desert night calmed her as she ran a hand over the whitened desert sand. She thought about Vash as tears stained the bleached ground she lay on. She had been wrong. So very wrong. Her past had blinded her from seeing the good intentions in Vash's heart.  
  
Now, nothing could save her. Not even the Lost Technology the humans had become so dependent on. She would now never know what she truly was but she knew one thing. She had been a paranoid idiot and she had lost so much by not trusting the one person that had really wanted to help her.  
  
"What's this?" a voice asked and Dema glanced up in shock. She recognized that voice from her childhood. The death and destruction of the one city she stood in and the only person she remembered seeing besides a blur of crimson was his.  
  
"Something attacked you?" he asked as he knelt in front of her.  
  
"Who...who are you?" she found herself asking, for he had not changed since she had seen him standing in the shadows of a dead city who knew how many years ago.  
  
"I am called Legato Bluesummers. It is a name you will be eternally grateful to."  
  
"You're going to kill me?"  
  
"Even close to death you've got a mocking bite. I find that amusing. No, I'm going to help you."  
  
Dema tried to spit out another retort but found she could not. She fell back to the ground, her body unable to take the strain of being alert any longer. Legato picked her up and ran a hand over the open wound on her back.  
  
"You seem familiar," he said to her unconscious face. But why?"  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
"Rem, I'm so sorry. I failed her. I've been searching but I haven't found her. I don't know where she is. Guess I should just accept the fact that she's gone," Vash said and glanced down at the ground. He noticed bloodstains on the sand and bent down to examine more closely. It was her blood that much he could tell, but whose footprints were around her? Who had carried her off? He stood there for a moment and thought about it.   
  
It would be easy to just walk off now and forget about everything. But, that's not what he had been taught. He had been taught that world was made of love and peace and that was what he must honor. He would go after her. He would find out who had taken her and why. It could have been a kindly stranger that had carried her off but he severely doubted it...  
  
**************************************************************************************  
  
Dema moved slightly then sharply sat up. She looked around for Vash but could not find him.  
  
"He's finally left me, I guess. I don't blame him, though. I was extremely harsh to him. I wish I could change that. But, where am I now?" she asked aloud. She tried sitting up and found the pain in her back almost non-existent.  
  
"Vash? Where am I? Hello?" Dema asked as she stood up. She gazed around the room in wonder. It was small but for some reason it felt...familiar. She frowned as she searched the bits and pieces of her memory for a reason for the familiarity.  
  
"You're awake," Legato said and Dema glanced in his direction.  
  
"Why did you save me?" she asked and Legato shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"You seemed familiar, as if I had run into you before. You also seem to have abilities I'm looking for."  
  
"Really."  
  
"I see your mouth is working quite well."  
  
"Look, I'm suspicious by nature and you don't seem to be the type of person that can be trusted easily."  
  
"Do you really have a choice?"  
  
"Since you put it that way, not really."  
  
*********************************  
  
"Listen, if your ultimate intent is to kill me, why don't you do it now? It would save you a hell of a lot of trouble," Dema said as she gauged Legato's emotions. She did not trust him whatsoever and she wanted to know exactly what type of ground she stood on with him.  
  
"If I enrage you enough, the lights in this room would burst. Is that correct?" he asked and Dema looked at him.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Well then, I guess I'll find out, won't I?"  
  
"Not if you attempt to touch me. I don't care if you've got a nice face. I don't trust you."  
  
"I save you from death and this is the reward I get. Perhaps I should have let death keep you."  
  
"This doesn't have anything to do with the idiot I was traveling with, does it? Because if it does, we split up and frankly I don't care where he is."  
  
"Your voice says one thing but your eyes say something else. You've become fond of him, haven't you?"  
  
"Why is that any of your business?"  
  
"Because it just might help me make up my mind as to what I'm going to do with you. If your fondness for each other is mutual, then I may have the opportunity that I'm looking for."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"It is in your best interest to sleep and forget about this conversation," Legato said as he blew some sort of powder into her face. Dema fell to ground unconscious and Legato walked away from her. "I have some serious thinking to do..."  
  
********************************************************************  
  
"So what are you going to do, Vash the Stampede?" Legato thought as   
  
he gazed at the unconscious Dema. "Are you going to save this one   
  
or are you going to let her die the same way you've let so many   
  
others?"  
  
He gazed at Dema and smiled darkly. "Perhaps I should kill her now?   
  
Or are you going to rescue her?"  
  
Dema stirred and Legato looked at her. He stood up and gazed out the   
  
window of the small shack, half expecting to see the shadow of Vash   
  
in the distance. He gazed into the darkening night and grinned when   
  
he saw the unmistakable figure of Vash the Stampede.  
  
"He's coming. I don't know what you've done to him or what went on   
  
between the two of you, but you obviously mean something to him."  
  
"What? You. All right, what the hell did you do to me?" Dema   
  
demanded as she stood up. Legato walked over to her and laid a hand   
  
on her shoulder. Her gaze darkened as she tried to get away from   
  
him.  
  
"Let me tell you something. Be really thankful that you're alive. I   
  
could have grown tired of this game and killed you a long time ago.   
  
I could have killed you when I found you. I think you should be   
  
grateful that I didn't," he said coldly.  
  
"You're just using me to get to him, aren't you? I'm going to be   
  
blamed for something that I didn't do, aren't I? It's going to   
  
happen to me again."  
  
"Again? What do you mean by again?"  
  
Dema turned away and Legato drew away from her. Again? Had he run   
  
into her before? If so, when and where? He shook his head as he   
  
glanced out the window again. Vash was coming and he would be ready   
  
for him.  
  
*******************************************  
  
Vash stepped up to the house and flattened his back against the wall   
  
and narrowed his eyes. His eyes grew dark and took on a life of his   
  
own. He was different now, than from what Dema had known him as.   
  
He cocked his right arm, which seemed to be a cybernetic arm, and   
  
grabbed onto what looked like a trigger to a gun. His sunglasses   
  
glowed eerily as he sidled around the shack to the back door and   
  
gazed through a crack in the door.  
  
"The door is open, Vash," Legato thought.  
  
"What have you done to her?" came Vash's silent reply.  
  
"I haven't done anything to her...yet. Why don't you come on in and   
  
see how she looks?"  
  
"You know I don't trust you."  
  
"You want to save her, don't you? You don't like seeing people   
  
suffer, do you?"  
  
Vash glared at the door for a moment then sighed. He laid a hand on   
  
the door and slowly turned it.  
  
"All right. What do you want from me?"  
  
"Put your weapon away and we'll talk."  
  
"Meeting you without a weapon? I'm not stupid. If you want to talk   
  
to me, then come outside where I know you're not going to try   
  
anything."  
  
"If you wish, but I can assure you, I'm not going to try anything."  
  
"You're assurance doesn't make me feel any better."  
  
"We'll meet by the front of the house."  
  
"Fine."  
  
**************************************  
  
Legato stepped out of the house and gazed into the glowing eyes of   
  
Vash the Stampede. His words had awoken a presence that had long   
  
since been buried. His trench coat blew in the wind, showing off   
  
his galvanized boots. This person, standing before him, was the   
  
real Vash the Stampede. The real fifty million double dollar man.   
  
He smiled sinisterly and Vash watched him coldly.  
  
"You're angry with me. I think I'll savor that emotion a bit more,"   
  
Legato thought and Vash took out his weapon.  
  
"You said you wanted to talk to me so do it now before I lose my   
  
patience," Vash thought and Legato gazed hard at him.  
  
"Not if you want to save her."  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
Dema awoke and vainly tried to move. She was tied to the beam of   
  
the house and something dark was going on outside. She could feel   
  
it.  
  
"This isn't good. Something is going on out there," she said to   
  
herself and tried to gaze out the nearest window. She saw Vash's   
  
shilouette, which was enough to give her an idea of what was going   
  
on.  
  
"Great. What is HE doing here? He didn't come to rescue me, did he?"   
  
She gazed up at the ceiling and thought. What if he did? What   
  
then? Did she really want to be killed by Legato? She knew what he   
  
was capable of, because she had run into him before but was it right   
  
that she had gotten Vash involved in her problems?  
  
"I've got to do something," she said resolutely. "I've got to get   
  
out of here. I've got to get Vash out of here as well. He shouldn't   
  
have to suffer because of me. This is all my fault."   
  
**********************************************************  
  
Dema swung her body over and latched onto the beam of the house.   
  
She frowned and concentrated on trying to break the rope that bound   
  
her hands to the ceiling. There was a sharp snap in the fibers and   
  
she fell sharply to the floor.  
  
She stood up, winded and looked out the window. The two of them   
  
stood there, lost in what seemed to be another time and another   
  
place. Something was happening there that she didn't know about.   
  
She didn't like it in any case and she was determined to do   
  
something about it.  
  
"All right you two! Would you just stop it? I'm the cause of this   
  
problem and I'm leaving so there's no reason for you to be at odds   
  
with each other," she said as she stormed up to where they stood.  
  
"Get out of here. For your own saftey," Vash said coldly and Dema   
  
glared at him.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do. I'm just as stubborn as you so don't even   
  
try to push me out of the way, Vash the Stampede."  
  
"Get away from me. Get away from this place.Now."  
  
"Why? So he can destroy things again? You're not the only one that's   
  
had problems with him."  
  
"Why do you keep insisting that you know me? I don't have anything   
  
to do with pathetic humans. But, now that I recall, it seems to me   
  
that you're not actually a human," Legato said in his emotionless   
  
voice.  
  
"Just shut up, will you?" Dema demanded and Legato stared at her.  
  
"You really want death that much, don't you? All right, I can give   
  
you that. I can kill you with your own hand."  
  
"Leave her out of this!" Vash demanded and Legato turned his   
  
attention to him. "There's been enough people hurt. Leave her out of   
  
this."  
  
"She's the cause of all of this Vash. I say she should get what she   
  
truly desires, but I suppose we should let her decide her fate,"   
  
Legato said as he gazed unblinkingly into Dema's eyes.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
She stood silent, watching the images of her past. Her childhood filled with the aftermath of Legato. Her adolescence where she was constantly being pointed out as an outsider and her adulthood where she was branded as an inhuman demon. Each label she was not deserving of but the last label provided some insight on her being. Inhuman. She looked at her hands for a moment, carefully counting each finger. Five on each hand. She was normal. At least she looked normal.  
  
"I'm not," she said to herself, underneath Legato's cold stare. "I'm not human. I don't know what I am but I can't be human. Not with the powers I have. Maybe I can use my abilities to stop this. I got Vash involved in my problems and I never should have done that. I'm going to be the one that gets him out of the mess I created."  
  
"You've made her feel responsible for you. Yet another soul you've failed to rescue," Legato thought.  
  
"Shut up. I haven't failed anyone," Vash thought and Legato smiled.  
  
"Not even yourself, Vash the Stampede? Watch closely as I make her will my own."  
  
He stood silent, his yellowish eyes glistening evilly as he gave his silent directions to Dema's body. Vash cringed at Dema's scream then gazed coldly at Legato.  
  
"Stop it! What has she done to you?" Vash cried.  
  
"You never change, Vash the Stampede. You still want to save the butterflies and the spiders, don't you?" Legato asked.  
  
"Stop hurting her!"  
  
Dema fell to the ground, coughing blood. She winced at the pain in her back, knowing full well that her old injury had been opened up again.  
  
"I...refuse to suffer at your hand again, Legato," she whispered as she struggled to stand. "You have no control over me."  
  
She stood, ignoring the pain throughout her body. She was stubborn and she was determined not to let Legato get the best of her. The lights in the shack flickered then glowed brightly as Dema began to walk forward.  
  
"What's going on?" Vash asked as one by one the bulbs in the shack burst.  
  
"She's a power source. I'm surprised you've never seen it before. Her strength is providing electrical energy to the lights and overloading them. You must mean something to her, otherwise she would not be so determined to have her death," Legato replied.  
  
"Stop it Dema. If you continue to do this, others will suffer."  
  
"And if I don't do this, you'll suffer," Dema replied. "I got you into this and I'm going to get you out."  
  
"You're emitting too much power. You're going to destroy the plant in September. The plant..."  
  
"I want his torment to end, Vash. You don't know how painful it is to exist in a world that has him in it. I'm not taking any more."  
  
"Another disaster is linked to you, Vash. Sad, isn't it? You try to save the weak yet you end up killing them. You're no better than the ones you try to stop," Legato said then turned at the click of a gun.  
  
Dema held Vash's gun tightly, electricity pulsing from it. She blinked away the tears in her eyes as she squeezed the trigger. Legato gazed down the barrel of the gun and smiled.  
  
"When plants turn. Such a fitting title. However, I'm going to have to pull this weed," Legato said and pulled out a gun and fired.  
  
Silence followed as Dema dropped the gun. She watched Legato coldly, the fire in her eyes steadily dying. Vash's eyes pulsed in pain as he watched her fall to the ground.  
  
"No!" Vash cried. "It can't end like this."  
  
"Go ahead and play God to these people while you still can. It's not going to last forever," Legato said.  
  
Vash took her hand then let it go. He laid her fingers on her eyes and closed the lids. He looked up at Legato, who had disappeared and stood up. Another life lost in a bitter contest of wills. He would find who he was searching for and make him pay for the numerous lives that had been lost at his hands. He gazed up at the sky, a stray tear running down his cheek. He had to keep moving. For the sake of the innocent and the memory of Dema and the others that had died. 


End file.
